
New York State Cuts Its Special Olympics Budget
The federal government isn’t cutting its funding for the Special Olympics, but New York State is, according to its budget.
New York’s budget for the Special Olympics decreased from $200,000 in 2018 to $150,000 for this year. Meanwhile, every one of the state’s 213 lawmakers will ultimately receive a raise that is almost the same amount cut from the games for disabled athletes.
Stacey Hengsterman, the president of Special Olympics New York, said in a statement reported by WKBW:
The budget process is always difficult and we are grateful we had so many champions advocating on our behalf. We will continue to work with our representatives in state government to hopefully increase these funds and continue to grow this important program.
State Assemblyman Patrick Burke, a Buffalo Democrat, said in a statement, according to WKBW: “I will be pursuing this further to ensure that funding to the Special Olympics of New York cannot be harmfully impacted.”
New York lawmakers agreed on a budget for fiscal year 2020 on March 31, one day before the fiscal year started.
Read the rest at: Cutting special Olympics